Millesime 2020 Premier Cru Extra Brut 2020

The Millésime 2020 Premier Cru Extra Brut is the vintage Champagne from Géraldine and Richard Lacourte-Godbillon, made in the Petite Montagne de Reims and bottled without any dosage. The couple took over the vines in 2008, as the ninth generation. Hand-harvesting and spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts are part of the house style, as are the 8.5 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards, organic since 2012 and Demeter-certified since 2020.

The cru comes from the terroir of Écueil and Les Mesneux. The vines there grow on sandy, lightly clay-based soils. Écueil lies between limestone slopes and a small forest that protects the microclimate; the barrels in the cellar are made from the oak of that very forest — wood, then, from the estate's own terroir.

60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. The base wine matured for nine months, 60% in foudres, the rest without wood contact. It was bottled in July 2021 and disgorged on 23 January 2026 with 0 g/l dosage. What ends up in the glass therefore carries no added sugar or oak seasoning, but four years of ageing on the lees.

In the glass, a pale straw yellow, bright and clear. The nose shows ripe, bright fruit: lemon and lemon sorbet, kumquat, herbs, alongside red and blue berries, white blossom and pastry with a hint of caramel. The Champagne feels juicy, dense and aromatically concentrated, again with bright fruit and a clean, delicate acid structure. The mousse stays elegant, the impression fine, with sorbet-like sweetness and freshness, even though not a gram of sugar was added.

Premier Cru from Écueil and Les Mesneux, 12.5% vol., foudre wood from the forest directly next to the vines, Demeter certification since 2020.